Bottle with external compartment

ABSTRACT

A bottle having an integrally formed, recessed, exterior storage compartment provided in its sidewall. A hinged cover is provided for the storage compartment.

United States Patent 1191 11] 3,732,999 Rounkles 1 May 15, 1973 [54]BOTTLE WITH EXTERNAL [56] References Cited COMPARTMENT UNITED STATESPATENTS 1 Invent: "Y Rmmkles Excelsior 180,132 7/l876 Hoard etal ..2l5/6Sprmgs, 3,095,965 7/1963 Stahletal ..220/31 s [73] Assignee: EthylDevelopment Corporation, 2,461,711 2/1949 Wewetzer...... ..220/3l SKansascity 3,252,492 5/1966 Marchant ..220/31s 3,590,989 7/1971 Wittwer..2l5/6 [22] Filed: May 3, 1971 1 [2i] Appl' No.: 139,650 PrimaryExaminer-Samuel B. Ro thberg Assistant ExaminerStephen Marcus 52 U.S.c1. ..2l5/6, 220/20, 220/31 s AmmeYTDMaId John R slebem and V V 7 DonaldMays [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 1 04 [5'8"FieidbiSearch1...'...;....I......'215/6;220/2031 s; 57 ABSTRACT A bottlehaving an integrally formed, recessed, exterior storage compartmentprovided in its sidewall. A hinged cover is provided for the storagecompartment.

2 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures PATENTED 1975 SHEET 1 BF 6 PATEHIEB WM51975 SHEET 2 [1F 6 FIG.

FIG. 4.

FIG. 5.

FIG. 3.

PATEMEBRAY] SW73 3 732,999

SHEET 3 UF 6 FIG. 8. FIG. 9.

PATENTEUHAY 1 51975 sum 8 OF 6 FIG. l6.

FIG.

FIG. I7.

1 BOTTLE WITH EXTERNAL COMPARTMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Fieldof the lnvention The present invention relates to containers, inparticular to bottles having an-external storage compartment.

2. Description of the Prior Art At the present time there are manypowdered and liquid products that are packaged in bottles which requireadditional apparatus before the products can be utilized. Among theseare baby oil which might require cotton swabs; waving lotion requiringend papers; liquid waxes requiring a polishing cloth; and cosmetics,such as makeup base, requiring an applicator pad. This list is by nomeans inclusive, but it does give an insight into the problem therequirement of additional apparatus, usually carried in separatecontainers, to fully utilize the product packaged in the bottle. Thus,it is evident that there is a need for a bottle having the means toretain with the bottle apparatus which is used to apply the productcontainer in the bottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide abottle having an external storage compartment.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a bottle with anexternal storage compartment that is closed by a one-piece cover.

It is another object of the present invention toprovide a bottle with anexternal storage compartment which presents a pleasing appearance.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bottlewith an external storage compartment which may be readily andeconomically produced in large quantities. I

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bottle withan external storage compartment which is suitable for packaging manydifferent products It is a still further object of the present inventionto provide a bottle with an externalstorage compartment which can befabricated from a number of different materials. l

The foregoing and additional objects are realized in a bottle having anexternal, recessed compartment which includes the combination of abottle sidewall, a bottom wall attached to the lower end ofthe bottlesidewall, and atop wall attached to the upper end of the bottlesidewall. An integrally formed neck structure extends outwardly from thetop wall. A recessed compartment is formed in an area of the bottlesidewall defined by a compartment sidewall attached to the bottlesidewall and extending into the interior of the bottle. A compartmentback wall is attached to the compartment sidewall. A cover overlies therecessed compartment and is movably attached to the bottle sidewall.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The drawings illustrate some of thepresent preferred embodiments of the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, elevational view of one embodiment for a bottleconstructed in accordance with the present invention showing the hingedcover removed; I

FIG. 2 is a perspective, elevational view of the bottle of FIG. 1 withthe hinged cover attached to the bottle and in the open position;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged, broken, perspective view showing one of thepintles on the hinged cover, together with the recessed area on thecontainer face for receiving the pintle;

FIG. 2B is a view taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 2 and enlarged to showthe pintle engaged in the recessed area;

FIG. 3 is an elevational, front view of the hinged cover of the bottleof FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a left-hand side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a right-hand side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a top view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a top view, partially in section, of the bottle of FIG. 2 withthe cover in the closed position;

FIG. 8 is a front, elevational view of the bottle of FIG. 7 with thelower portion of the cover broken away;

FIG. 9 is a right-hand side view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective, elevational view of another embodiment for abottle construction in accordance with the present invention showing thehinged cover removed;

FIG. 11 is a perspective, elevational view of the bottle of FIG. 10 withthe hinged cover attached to the bottle and in the open position;

FIG. 11A is an enlarged, broken, perspective view showing one of thepintles on the hinged cover, together with the recessed area on thecontainer face for receiving the pintle;

FIG. 11B is a view taken along line I1B ll B of FIG. 11 and enlarged toshow the pintle engaged in the recessed area; I

FIG. 12 is an elevational, front view of the hinged cover of the bottleof FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a left-hand side view of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a right-hand side view of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a top view of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a top view, partially in section, of the bottle of FIG. 12with the cover in the closed position;

FIG. 17 is a front, elevational view of the bottle of FIG. 16 with theupper portion of the cover broken away; and

FIG. 18 is a right-hand side view of FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention isdirected to a container or bottle having two separate compartments. Thebottle has an internal compartment to hold a liquid or dry particulateproduct. A recessed, external storage compartment is provided in thesidewall of the bottle which may be used to store accessory material.The external compartment is closed by a hinged cover. The face of thehinged cover, when in the closed position, forms a portion of thesidewall of the container, and, according tov which embodiment ischosen, it may also form a portion of the side of the container. Thehinged cover has a pintle which extends outwardly from the top andbottom of one of its edges in the same: plane as the face of the cover.The container sidewall is provided with two slots or recesses adjacentone sidewall of the compartment sidewalls to receive the pintles. Thecompartment sidewall is joined to the sidewall of the bottle preferablyby a shoulder or a ledge which receives the cover in abutment so thatthe face of the cover is flush with the bottle sidewall when the coveris closed. The pintle on the hinged cover snaps into these slots toswingably mount the cover to the container. Preferably, the pintles areassembled into the slots in the container wall by a snapping actionwherein either or both the walls of the slot and the pintles areelastically and resiliently deformed outwardly to admit the pintle andthereafter return to their original position to substantially enclosethe pintles and provide a bearing surface for rotation of the pintles.The hinged cover has a rib on the inside of the edge opposite from thehinged edge which communicates with a groove in the container sidewallso that the cover may be held in the closed position. There is alsoprovided an opening or finger grip or tab which can be grasped and usedto separate the rib of the hinged cover from the container groove andthereby swingably open the cover.

The bottle of the present invention may be made from metal, glass orplastic. The cover for the storage compartment may be made from metal orplastic. Suitable plastics for the bottle are polyethylene (low, mediumor high density), polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene,polyacrylates or methacrylates, acrylonitrile graft polymers and others.The cover may be formed from such plastics as medium and high densitypolyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonates, polystyrene,acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene graft polymers, polyacetals and others.The bottle of the present invention is preferably formed by blow moldinga suitable thermoplastic such as medium density polyethylene, orpolyvinyl chloride, and forming the cover by injection molding athermoplastic material, such as high density polyethylene. However, thebottle may be formed from glass by blowing and an injection moldedplastic may be used for the cover.

The bottle may be of any desired configuration, round, rectangular ortapered and of any desired size.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 1, 2, 2A and 2B, the container orbottle, generally designated 30, is rectangular in shape and has aswingably mounted, hinged cover, generally designated 31. The containerhas a neck structure 32 extending upwardly from a top wall 32A, twoopposed sidewalls 33-33, a bottom wall 34, a back wall (not shown) and afront wall 35. The neck structure 32 has an opening 36 which givesaccess to the inner compartment of the container. The neck 37 has araised, integral, helical thread 38. The thread 38 is adapted to engagea helical recess in a closure cap (not shown) so that the opening 36 maybe closed.

The exterior recessed compartment, designated generally 39, is formed byan integral recess in the front wall 35 and is defined by a compartmentback wall 40, a compartment sidewall 41, a compartment top wall 42 and acompartment bottom wall 43. The right-hand, downturned portion of thehinged cover 31 provides the other compartment sidewall 44 and acompartment front wall 45.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the hinged cover 31 has in inwardlyprojecting, short rib 46 which is centrally located on the inside ofsidewall 44. When the cover 31 is in the closed position, the rib 46 isreceived in a groove 47 (see FIGS. 7, 8 and 9) provided in one sidewall33 and holds the cover in a closed position. There is also provided onthe cover 31 a raised finger grip 48 which can be grasped and used toopen the compartment 39 by pivoting the cover 31.

On the opposite side of the cover 31 from the lip 48 there are pintles49 and 50 which are coplanar and integral with the hinging edge 101 ofthe cover 31. As shown in FIGS. 1 through 9, and particularly in FIGS.2A and 2B, the pintles 49 and 50 are received in slots 51 and 52provided in the front wall 35. The slots are of sufficient size to allowthe pintles 49 and 50 to pivot freely. When the bottle is made ofplastic, the pintles 49 and 50 are retained in the slots 51 and 52 byresilient, opposed, retaining ledges 53-53 which bend inwardly as thepintle is being snapped into place and then recoil outwardly as thepintle passes to form a barrier against the possibility of the pintles49 and 50 coming out of the slots 51 and 52 (see FIG. 2B). If the bottleis made of glass and the cover of plastic, the pintle will compress toenter the slots and then expand to be retained therein.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 2A and 7, the container face 35 isprovided with recessed ledges or shoulders 54 surrounding the recessedcompartment 39. The ledges are of sufficient depth to receive the edges55 of the hinged cover 31. This allows the cover 31 to become anintegral part of the front wall 35 and sidewall 33 of the bottle 30 toprovide a flush, continuous, front face for the bottle when the cover 31is in the closed position, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9.

FIGS. 10-18 illustrate another embodiment of the bottle or container ofthe present invention wherein the container, generally designated 60,has a generally rectangular, swingably mounted, hinged cover, generallydesignated 61. The container has a neck structure 62 attached to topwall 62a, two opposed sidewalls 63-63, a bottom wall 64, a back wall(not shown) and a front face or wall 65. The neck structure 62 has anopening 66 which gives access to the inner compartment of the container.The neck 67 has helical shaped threads 68 transversing its entire lengthwhich are adapted to mate with a helical recess in the inner wall of aclosure cap (not shown) so that the opening 66 may be closed.

A generally rectangular, exterior, recessed compartment, designatedgenerally 69, is provided in the front wall 65 of the container and iscomposed of a back compartment wall 70, side compartment walls 71-71, atop compartment wall 72 and a bottom compartment wall 73. The hingedcover 61 provides a front wall 75 which, together with the front wall 65of the bottle, provides a continuous front surface for the bottle whenthe cover 61 is in the closed position.

Referring to FIGS. 12-15, the hinged cover 61 has a short locking rib 76centrally located and extending out from closure edge 100. When thecover 31 is in the closed position, the rib 76 is received in a groove77 (FIG. 16) and holds the cover 61 in a closed position. There is alsoprovided on the cover 61 a finger grip 78 which can be grasped and usedto open the compartment 69 by pivoting the cover 61. On the edge 102 ofthe cover 61 are pintles 79 and 80 coplanar and integral with thehinging edge.

As shown in FIGS. 10, 11A, 11B and 17, the pintles 79 and 80 snap intoslots 81 and 82 provided in the front face 65, which slots are ofsufficient size to allow the pintles 79 and 80 to pivot freely. Thepintles 79 and 80 are retained in the slots 81 and 82 by resilientretaining ledges 83-83 which bend inwardly as the pintle is beingsnapped into place and then recoil outwardly as the pintle passes toform a barrier against the possibility of the pintles 79 and 80 comingout of the slots 81 and 82 (see FIG. 118).

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 16, the container face 65 has recessed edgesor Shoulders 84 surrounding the compartment 69 which shoulders are ofsufficient depth to receive the thickness of the hinged cover 61 whenits edges are in abutment with the shoulders. This allows the cover 61to be an integral part of the face 65 of the bottle 60 and provides asmooth surface for the bottle when the cover is in the closed positionas shown in FIGS. 16 and 18.

While the two embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawinghave their exterior compartments located on the front wall of thecontainer, it is understood that the exterior compartment may beprovided on either the back or the sidewall of the bottle if desired.Also, it is within the scope of the present invention to provide thebottle with more than one compartment, e.g., a compartment on both thefront and back faces of the bottle. While the embodiments depicted areshown to have a threaded neck structure, it is understood that thecontainers may be provided with any other suitable closure.

While there has been disclosed preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, it is understood that there will be many obviousmodifications which will occur to those skilled in the art. It isintended that the subject invention be limited only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bottle having an external recessed compartment, the combinationcomprising:

a. said bottle being generally rectangular in shape and having a frontwall, a back wall, and two opposed sidewalls;

b. a recessed compartment formed in said front wall and one of saidsidewalls defined by i. a compartment bottom wall having one sideattached to said one of said sidewalls,

ii. a compartment sidewall attached to said compartment bottom wall andto said front wall,

iii. a compartment back wall attached to said bottom wall, to said oneof said sidewalls and to said compartment sidewall, thereby providingsaid compartment with a top and side opening;

c. a plurality of recessed shoulders being provided in said front walland said one of said sidewalls at the junction of the walls of saidrecessed compartment with said front wall and said one of saidsidewalls;

d. said front wall being provided with opposed slots extending out fromthe recess defined by said front wall and said compartment back wall;

e. a cover for said recessed compartment, said cover including,

i. a front portion adapted to cover the top opening of said compartment,

ii. an integrally formed, downturned side portion adapted to cover theside opening of said compartment,

iii. a pairof opposed pintles extending outwardly from the edge of saidfront portion of said cover which is opposite said integrally formedside portion; and

f. said pintles being received in said slots to hingedly attach saidcover to said bottle whereby the edges of said cover are in abutmentwith said recesses when said cover is in the closed position.

2. In the bottle of claim 1 wherein said cover for said recessedcompartment has a thickness substantially equal to the depth of saidrecesses whereby said cover and said front face are flush with eachother when said cover is in the closed position.

1. In a bottle having an external recessed compartment, the combinationcomprising: a. said bottle being generally rectangular in shape andhaving a front wall, a back wall, and two opposed sidewalls; b. arecessed compartment formed in said front wall and one of said sidewallsdefined by i. a compartment bottom wall having one side attached to saidone of said sidewalls, ii. a compartment sidewall attached to saidcompartment bottom wall and to said front wall, iii. a compartment bAckwall attached to said bottom wall, to said one of said sidewalls and tosaid compartment sidewall, thereby providing said compartment with a topand side opening; c. a plurality of recessed shoulders being provided insaid front wall and said one of said sidewalls at the junction of thewalls of said recessed compartment with said front wall and said one ofsaid sidewalls; d. said front wall being provided with opposed slotsextending out from the recess defined by said front wall and saidcompartment back wall; e. a cover for said recessed compartment, saidcover including, i. a front portion adapted to cover the top opening ofsaid compartment, ii. an integrally formed, downturned side portionadapted to cover the side opening of said compartment, iii. a pair ofopposed pintles extending outwardly from the edge of said front portionof said cover which is opposite said integrally formed side portion; andf. said pintles being received in said slots to hingedly attach saidcover to said bottle whereby the edges of said cover are in abutmentwith said recesses when said cover is in the closed position.
 2. In thebottle of claim 1 wherein said cover for said recessed compartment has athickness substantially equal to the depth of said recesses whereby saidcover and said front face are flush with each other when said cover isin the closed position.